Both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, at various points in history, placed restrictions on the laity’s access to the Bible in vernacular languages. While a few vernacular translations were produced, their widespread distribution was not permitted. Today, however, there is some skepticism surrounding this historical fact, but the sources on these matters remain clear. It is also often claimed that the Orthodox Church permitted vernacular translations at a time when Catholicism forbade them, yet this is not accurate. Indeed, both Western and Eastern authorities imposed restrictions on the unrestricted reading of the Bible, as seen in several ecclesiastical statements. The Council of Toulouse (1229) decreed:
We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old and the New Testament; unless anyone from the motives of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books
Pope Innocentius III excommunicating the Albigensians (left),
Crusade against the Albigensians (right)
(British Library, Royal 16 G VI f. 374v)
Such the same was also stated by the council of Tarragona, which declared:
No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days, so that they may be burned
The council of Constance in the 1415s also condemned John Wyclif as "that pestilent wretch of damnable heresy who invented a new translation of the scriptures in his mother tongue". In fact, even as far as the 1800s when they had given some more room for translation, the Pope said thus:
"For you should have kept before your eyes the warnings which Our predecessors have constantly given, namely, that, if the sacred books are permitted everywhere without discrimination in the vulgar tongue, more damage will arise from this than advantage. Furthermore, the Roman Church, accepting only the Vulgate edition according to the well-known prescription of the Council of Trent, disapproves the versions in other tongues and permits only those which are edited with the explanations carefully chosen from writings of the Fathers and Catholic Doctors, so that so great a treasure may not be exposed to the corruptions of novelties, and so that the Church, spread throughout the world, may be ‘of one tongue and of the same speech’ [Gen. 11:1].” (Pope Pius VII, 1816 A.D)"
Church historian Philip Schaff also points out similar occasions in the Western Church, noting that vernacular translations were banned by Pope Gregory VII in Bohemia:
Owing to lack of culture among the Germanic and Romanic peoples, there was for a long time no thought of restricting access to the Bible there. Translations of Biblical books into German began only in the Carolingian period and were not originally intended for the laity. Nevertheless the people were anxious to have the divine service and the Scripture lessons read in the vernacular. John VIII in 880 permitted, after the reading of the Latin gospel, a translation into Slavonic; but Gregory VII, in a letter to Duke Vratislav of Bohemia in 1080 characterized the custom as unwise, bold, and forbidden (Epist., vii, 11; P. Jaff, BRG, ii, 392 sqq.). This was a formal prohibition, not of Bible reading in general, but of divine service in the vernacular.
Allowing all Christians to read the Bible was also prohibited by the Eastern Orthodox council of Jerusalem, which states:
Should the Divine Scriptures be read in the vulgar tongue [common language] by all Christians?
No. Because all Scripture is divinely-inspired and profitable {cf. 2 Timothy 3:16}, we know, and necessarily so, that without [Scripture] it is impossible to be Orthodox at all. Nevertheless they should not be read by all, but only by those who with fitting research have inquired into the deep things of the Spirit, and who know in what manner the Divine Scriptures ought to be searched, and taught, and finally read. But to those who are not so disciplined, or who cannot distinguish, or who understand only literally, or in any other way contrary to Orthodoxy what is contained in the Scriptures, the Catholic Church, knowing by experience the damage that can cause, forbids them to read [Scripture]. Indeed, it is permitted to every Orthodox to hear the Scriptures, that he may believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation {Romans 10:10}. But to read some parts of the Scriptures, and especially of the Old [Testament], is forbidden for these and other similar reasons. For it is the same thing to prohibit undisciplined persons from reading all the Sacred Scriptures, as to require infants to abstain from strong meats.
While it is true that translations such as the Augsburger Bible were created during this era, their distribution was tightly controlled, and the laity was largely restricted from having access to them. This runs wastly contrary to scripture, which makes the reading of scripture extremely important "have ye not read" (Matthew 12:3). And while both Catholicism and Orthodoxy today allow the reading of the Bible in the vernacular, this aspect of their history remains a dark chapter, marked by a reluctance to fully embrace the accessibility of Scripture to all believers.
